Rants & raves from a redheaded lawyer w/an unusual career: one where she can be herself online!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

"We Want to Hire You", Then Nothing!

What the hell is up with people offering you a job and then not giving you any follow-up or worse yet, not paying you a salary?

I got offered a job yesterday under the attorney title & was supposed to get a phone call today from the new boss. Nothing yet. I realize people are busy but now I'm worried that this will turn into another situation where someone becomes all enthusiastic to have me work with them only to vanish off the face of the Earth. This has happened to me a good 3 times.

The first time I remember was when I applied to work for this company that gave driving tours of the city. It included a car, a clothing allowance & a pretty decent salary. Sounds good, right? Unusual for my background but when you're looking for a steady paying job, you tend to look for interesting, well paying & so forth.

So how about I get told about going to some training session but then never hear a word about where it's at? I called up the owner; he's MIA & never returns my phone calls.

Another time, I was applying for an attorney job & got an interview. I was told I'd get a call the next week; do you think I got one? No! I call the office & can't get anyone. When I finally do, the interviewer becomes a total dick to me & never gives me a definitive answer. This is also a job opportunity that this interviewer contacted ME about in response to an ad I posted saying I was seeking a job.

Oh, and avoid Audrey Golden Associates at all costs. I interviewed for a lower level job there making phone calls & was told I'd get notified while I was out of town. Do you think I did? Instead, I see the same job ad posted twice on Craig's List that I responded to before I had the interview.

These days, I don't take that shit lightly. I have no problem with reminding some of these "business" people that I do exist in the working world & treating me like a peon will cost them dearly.

When I have to follow up & you lie about calling me, I will make damn sure you suffer not just in my telling others about the experience but holding it against you if you ever ask me for anything. The industry works in the same way. Today's intern could be tomorrow's executive--don't be a dick!

I did just that with the interviewers who wasted my time the week before I left town.

I also dislike people who express an interest in working with me but their actions say otherwise. Much like in dating, if I'm not enough of a priority to return a phone call to or to take concrete steps toward a job & paying me $, I'm not wasting my time or giving you any type of courtesy to make life easier on you.

When I dated, I had a 2 week rule. Any guy I met who didn't bother responding to me in 2 weeks after a date or an initial meeting lost out. If I met someone new in the meantime, then a guy who never contacted me lost his chance & would have gotten told that if he tried contacting me after that window of time. Never had to employ that with boyfriends but if it had happened, you bet I'd have ended that relationship & moved on. You'd better believe I give other people that same courtesy.

The absolute worst, though was my last day job (the scam artist). I was told I was hired for something & would get a salary but ended up only getting a very small amount of money as well as some business expense payment for my using an off-site computer lab to do Internet work as part of my job. Now I have worked with legitimate companies that were upfront about the lack of a salary. I still work with the legit ones, largely b/c they tell me how much they appreciate me. However, I have zero patience to go through that again even though I wasn't footing the bill for my travel for most of that time unlike some people.

As a business owner, I want to know: Why the fuck would you solicit people for positions, interview them, tell at least one of them that you want to hire him/her & then not make any effort whatsoever to contact this person/have them start working ASAP? It makes no rational sense to me. It wastes my time, transit money, gives me false hope & just pisses me off.

It also makes me hell bent to do everything I can to harm you professionally & personally b/c you are a liar. I also end up wasting money on celebration efforts or transit passes, which is why I refuse to celebrate this or allow anyone to spend a dime of money until I get my phone call.

It's only fair; if you had experienced all this, you'd probably be cautious as well. That type of thing just screams "unprofessional" to me & I think should be cause for legal action. I don't know what type of claim or remedy could be argued but I think there should be some penalty so small employers stop doing it.

I'm tempted to just start asking for travel reimbursement before I go to any job interview, especially if I'm just going to be lied to in the end.

About Me

I am an attorney who used to work with a small indie film production company. Like it or not, it seems I now have a place in the entertainment industry.
DISCLAIMER: The statements on this blog represent my personal views ONLY. It is not to be taken as any representation of the views of ANY other entity besides me, myself & I. I am not a spokesperson for ANYONE other than myself.
This blog is also NOT LEGAL ADVICE nor does any statement here form an attorney-client relationship or convey more than general information. If you want to be MY client, you'll have to sign a retainer agreement & pay me first.